Elementos da Cruzada das Mulheres Portuguesas e o seu estandarte

The Portuguese Women's Crusade ( ) was a Portuguese feminist beneficence movement, founded in 1916 by a group of women led by First Lady Elzira Dantas Machado (an important advocate for women's activism, a founder of the Republican League of Portuguese Women and president of the Association of Feminist Propaganda), aiming to provide moral and material assistance to those in need in the context of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the enforcement of

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

. It disbanded in 1938. A staple of the so-called

first-wave feminism First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on De jure, legal issues, primarily on securing women's right to vote. The term is oft ...

in Portugal, it has been studied as a key feature of the history of feminism in the context of the

Portuguese First Republic The First Portuguese Republic (; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the period of constitutional monarchy marked by the 5 October 1910 revol ...

. The Portuguese Women's Crusade was not meant to be perceived as a ''political'' organisation, rather, it called itself a "patriotic and humanitarian institution" in its statutes, and brought together women of different political and cultural backgrounds. Along the Women's Crusade several founding members were the wives and daughters of several important politicians and military officers, namely Alzira Costa (wife of the Democratic Party leader

Afonso Costa Afonso Augusto da Costa, GCTE, GCL (; 6 March 1871 – 11 May 1937) was a Portuguese lawyer, professor and republican politician. Political career Costa was the leader of the Portuguese Republican Party and he was one of the major figures ...

), Ester Norton de Matos (wife of the War Minister

José Norton de Matos José Maria Mendes Ribeiro Norton de Matos, GCTE, GCL (23 March 1867 – 3 January 1955) was a Portuguese general and politician. 1880s After attending college in Braga, and attending the Escola Académica in Lisbon in 1880, Norton de Matos ...

), and Amélia Leote do Rego (wife of , the commander of the Naval Division), as well as important feminists, such as Ana de Castro Osório. Also a member was Portugal's first female lawyer,

Regina Quintanilha Regina Quintanilha (1893-1967) was the first Portuguese woman to obtain a law degree at the University of Coimbra. Despite the law prohibiting women to practise law, on 14 November 1913 she received authorization from the President of the Suprem ...

. Activities conducted included the training of new nurses who were not Catholic nuns. This was led by

Sofia Quintino Sofia Quintino (1879-1964) was one of the first female physicians to graduate in Portugal. An active feminist, who opposed the Portuguese monarchy and feudalism, she played a particularly important role in developing a secular nursing service, in ...

. On 12 June 1919, President Canto e Castro made the Portuguese Women's Crusade a

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of the Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit, and founder Elzira Dantas Machado a

of the Order of Christ.

References

{{Authority control 1916 establishments in Portugal 1938 disestablishments in Portugal Feminist organisations in Portugal First-wave feminism Organisations based in Lisbon Organizations established in 1916 Organizations disestablished in 1938 Women's organisations based in Portugal Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword History of women in Portugal